Sorry for the misleading title. This is not about the flight attitude, this is about your attitude to flying with a running nose.
How do you set your limits? No flying at the slightest onset of a cold? Or all ok unless you’re actually ill, not being able to breath through the nose, etc.?
Obviously you should be fit to fly generally – and you should worry about your ability to equalize ear pressure effectively.
I’m asking because I’m in that situation. I’m planning on going flying with some friends tomorrow afternoon and I don’t want to cancel it of course 
, but I’ve had a bit of a cold developing throughout this week. I’m perfectly fine otherwise, no high temperature, no fatigue, but the nose isn’t 100% free. On the other hand I just landed as a passenger on a domestic flight 3 hours ago and I had no issues popping my ears repeatedly during descent.
Where do you draw the line?
[ title updated :) ]
Drink a bottle of Wick MediNait, paracetamol, ephedrine and 18% alcohol will get you through the flight and if that is not good enough, extract the ephedrine and convert it to crystal meth 
I don’t fly if I don’t feel fit. Whether the nose is running etc. doesn’t matter, it’s how well I feel.
Once had a blocked nose during a day VFR approach to land in Australia, the ear pain was very bad. Depends how high you plan to fly and if you are happy you can clear your ears. As with diving, clear them frequently.
Nose drops (anti swelling, oxymetazoline hydrochloride) are part of my flight bag. A blocked nose can be really bad, especially when flying high with a non pressurized aircraft.
I’d say two things
1: You have to judge how fit you are. A runny nose is one thing, that’s just a physical distraction. But if you develop a cold, that is different, especially if it leads to flu like symptoms. I had a runny nose, then a cold a few weeks ago, and my decision making was lethargic, and I was weak. I knew I couldn’t fly. I have flown with a pilot in the left hand seat who did have a cold, and there was an understanding I would take some of the load from him and did radio calls etc. There was no understanding about what I would say if I caught said cold off him though after being wedged together in a small cockpit!
2: Do your friends want to catch a cold possibly? Personally I hate it when someone gets in my plane, my car, my apartment, the desk next to me at work and says “sorry I’ve got a crappy cold”. What do you know, two days later I’ve got a cold. Hard to avoid I know, but maybe the chance to fly will negate their feelings if they later get ill ;-)
I suppose I’d also see how I handled a 5 minute drive on a busy road. If I cant handle a car and am a bit behind the curve, I will know I shouldn’t be in control of a plane.
I would not fly with a cold.
A few years back I cancelled a flight from Amsterdam. I went with Squeezy Jet instead 2hrs later. (don’t ask about the fare)
It was a very good decision as I got worse on the way.
Wick MediNait is called night nurse here helps a lot, but disqualifies you from flying.
Don’t fly if you can’t clear your ears. I did it once and it was a horrific day at work. Never again!
Sudafed is similarly good for bunged sinuses – I have kept a packet in my flight bag ever since.
A few years back I cancelled a flight from Amsterdam. I went with Squeezy Jet instead 2hrs later.
Which may not be the best thing to do either: One of my colleagues suffered a burst eardrum last year as an airline passenger on his return flight from Thailand where he had caught a bad cold due to excessive airconditioning of his hotel room. On long-range flights in airliners, cabin altitude can reach 8000ft, which is no different from flying an unpressurised aeroplane at typical altitudes!
Personally, on “my” bizjet I usually don’t mind flying with a cold. Our cabin altitude rarely exceeds 2000ft which is unpleasant with a blocked nose but not dangerous. I only report sick when I have fever. Instructing on piston singles and twins is different. I once thought I could fly with a cold, but after the second instrument approach I was barely able to hear (and painful it was as well!) and had to terminate the flight, which is unfair towards the student who expects to get a decent training session. I won’t do that again.
On long-range flights in airliners
It was a very short flight AMS-LTN and I had some fever just before boarding. I was sick as a dog on landing.
Best to cancel, if you have any doubts and live with the disappointment. What would you expect of someone else who showed signs of a cold.
You would be doing yourself and them a big favour. You also need to be careful about any medications you take. some of the over the counter stuff is quite powerful and one of the commonest problems is taking too much paracetemol a s that tend to be the common ingredient in most cold relief preparations.I had my ears block going up a hill in a car so be careful as altitude is not much of a guide.
